What Is a Colt Horse?

The word "colt" is commonly used to refer to any baby horse, but this is incorrect. The correct gender-neutral term for a young horse is "foal." While all colts are foals, foals can be either fillies or colts, similar to how all baby boys are infants, yet infants can be either baby boys or baby girls.

The Definition of "Colt"

A colt is specifically an intact male horse, pony, donkey, or mule under four years of age. It rhymes with "bolt." The term reflects that the young equine is male. For instance, "The colt and filly played in the paddock while their mothers grazed nearby." This is equally correct as "The two foals played in the paddock..." but the first specifies the foals' genders.

Common Usages of "Colt"

People often incorrectly call all baby horses colts. This misunderstanding is common in movies and books.

A very young horse can be termed a "filly foal" or "colt foal." Once a colt is weaned, it becomes a "weanling colt," and at one year, it is known as a "yearling colt" (or simply "yearling"). A colt older than one or two may be referred to as a "stud colt."

Characteristics of Colts

A common belief is that fillies are smarter than colts. Similarly, some think fillies stand and nurse sooner after birth than colts. However, these are myths. Many believe colts are bolder, but a 2010 study disproves this. Colts usually grow faster than fillies, especially if gelded early. Gelding, or castration, redirects reproductive growth to other areas of development.

Other Horse-Related Definitions

In horse racing, a colt is a young male horse aged two to five. Races for colts and fillies are common. After five, colts become either stallions or geldings. In races, a filly is any female horse under five. After four, a filly is termed a mare.

All young equids, like donkeys, ponies, mules, zebras, and onagers, fit the definitions of "colt" and "filly." Therefore, one might refer to a donkey filly or pony colt.

Colts in Popular Culture

The word "colt" comes from the Old English expression for "young ass." In Biblical times, the term was also used for young camels. It's similar to the Swedish kult, which referred to a young boar or piglet, or to a boy. The Danish kuld meant "offspring" or "brood" and was used as early as the 13th century as a term for a child.

In Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (published in 1796), an old man who married or kept the company of a young girl was said to have "a colt's tooth in his head."

A nursery rhyme from Old Mother Goose mentions colts, as well:

Shoe the colt,
Shoe the colt,
Shoe the wild mare;
Here a nail,
There a nail,
Colt must go bare.

The Indianapolis Colts are a team in the National Football League.